The New Year carries a lot of magic for so many of us. There is the invitation to make positive change in our lives and the possibility and exhilaration of a fresh start.

And yet, by mid-January every year, we have slipped back into our old habits; spending on luxuries we can’t afford, skipping fitness classes, forgetting travel or career-change plans and consuming all of the carbs, sugars and alcohol in sight.

So how can we make 2018 our year? Here are my personal tips for sticking to your resolutions this year.

Make sure you know why

Why is this your resolution? What does life look like right now? What will life look like if you don’t stick to your resolution? And what will it look like if you do? How will it affect your career, family, finances, home life and relationship? How will you look and feel and why is this important?

This is the energy we need to be tapping into, because if the only reason we have resolved to lose one stone in weight is because all of our friends are doing it, it is unlikely we will stick to it in the long term.

Once you have discovered why, close your eyes, sit for five minutes and tap back into your why. This is your power.

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We need to realise that positive change doesn’t arrive through bullying, especially not when it’s towards ourselves.

So “I need to lose a stone because I am fat” doesn’t work. Instead, focus on the things we liked about ourselves in 2017 and aim to go a tiny step further.

For example, “In 2014 I experimented with a weekly sugar detox four times which made me feel great… I’d like to do it six times in 2018.”

Be flexible in your expectations

Don’t be so hard on yourself, but don’t throw the towel in if one day doesn’t go quite as you’d planned.

It is sad but true that being defeatist is perhaps the biggest threat to our resolutions.

If you accept a cupcake from Karen in marketing there’s no need to pig out for the rest of the week; if you spend twice what you’d planned on a shopping spree, don’t let yourself go on another ‘just because’; if you skip your fitness class one day, resist the urge to write off the rest of the week.

Instead, recognise where you went wrong, and know that the following day is a new opportunity to succeed.

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It probably comes as no surprise that there are other people out there with the same or similar resolutions to you.

Your friends, your family and online communities can help to hold you accountable. We know that we are stronger when we have our loved ones behind us, and even more so when they are moving towards similar goals.

And if you don’t have anyone to lean on, there are multiple professional coaches out there specialising in everything from nutrition to finances, careers and relationships.

They may well charge a pretty penny to hold you accountable, but how much is your happiness worth?

Regularly review your progress and keep a log

Writing down intentions is another brilliant accountability tool… but so is recording our progress.

When morale is low, it can be very difficult to move forward. Written milestone markers act as empowering rewards.

So, whether you write your resolutions and your progress in a personal journal on your bedroom wall or as a Facebook status, be sure to take ownership for your 2018, and let us know how it goes.